


The Comeback

by heartsdesire456



Category: Yuri!!! on Ice (Anime)
Genre: Cuddling & Snuggling, Flirting, Fluff, Humor, M/M, Married Characters, Post-Canon, Smitten Victor
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-12-28
Updated: 2016-12-28
Packaged: 2018-09-12 19:05:51
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 10,235
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9085900
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/heartsdesire456/pseuds/heartsdesire456
Summary: Victor's debut for his return to competitive skating, the European Championships, arrives, and Yuuri tags along to support his husband as he fights his nerves to overcome his fears and share his love of skating with the world.





	

**Author's Note:**

> I just got this idea for Yuuri the supportive husband post-canon and decided to have fun with it!
> 
> Realistically, this could 100% be a sequel to [my last fic](https://archiveofourown.org/works/8974489), but THAT WAS NOT THE INTENTION. I just realized as I wrote it that it seemed entirely like it was a sequel to that.

It had been a while since Yuuri spoke to Phichit, not since his and Victor’s wedding in the week they returned to Japan to pack all their things and move to Russia together, so he was excited when Phichit called him. He opened Facetime and smiled. “Phichit-kun!” he said excitedly.

“Yuuri!” Phichit cried, waving excitedly. “How’s Russia?” he asked excitedly.

Yuuri held up his thick-sweater-covered arm. “Cold! Victor won’t let me turn the heat up any warmer,” he said, pouting. “I think it’s a ploy to get me to cuddle with him more, only he’s running around like mad packing today, and Makkachin doesn’t want to sit with me,” he complained, looking over at where the dog was laying on his doggy bed asleep.

“Awwww, you’re so domestic!” Phichit cooed. “Are you going to watch him skate?”

Yuuri nodded. “I offered to stay home so Makkachin doesn’t have to go to the kennel, because I can’t stay at the hotel with him or come into the athlete’s area of the stadium with him, but Victor is really nervous, so I should better go be in the crowd,” he said with a bit of a blush. “Minako-sensei is flying out since Yakov was able to get two tickets and I didn’t want to be alone.”

“That’s nothing to be ashamed of,” Phichit said simply. “You wouldn’t have as much fun in a strange country in the middle of Europe that you don’t know anything about if you were all alone. I would have loved to come, but I could never get time off of my training with Four Continents coming up in a month.”

Yuuri smiled. “I’m only getting time off because my coach has to take the time off,” he joked. “He felt bad about taking me away from my training, but I promised to go to a public rink and practice my choreography every morning we’re in Austria.”

“Yuuri! Have you seen my hair dryer?!” Victor called desperately from their bedroom. “I can’t use a hotel hair dryer, it will give me frizzy hair!” 

Phichit snickered, having obviously heard and saw the way Yuuri rolled his eyes at that baseless claim. “I use a towel and time like a normal human, Victor, so I have no idea where it went,” he called back and Victor made a sound like a dying whale, probably running around looking everywhere.

“So how is it being married after the honeymoon phase has ended?” Phichit teased and Yuuri snorted.

“After living in Russia, I really understand Victor so much better now. They’re all as dramatic and insane as he is, so his ridiculousness makes a lot of sense,” he said. “Georgi makes more sense now even,” he stressed. “Russians are just mad!”

“Yuuriiiiiii,” Victor whined from much closer, and Yuuri looked up to see Victor coming towards him from the bedroom. “Why are you being racist against Russians?” he asked with a pout. 

“Oh it has nothing to do with race, it’s all about nationality,” Yuuri countered, smiling teasingly when Victor climbed onto the couch and lay across Yuuri’s lap. “Say hi to Phichit,” he said, and Victor turned his head from where it was propped on the arm of the couch beside Yuuri and he smiled.

“Hi, Phichit!” he greeted. “What lies has Yuuri been telling about my country?”

Yuuri tutted. “Victor, you’re all mad,” he said plainly. “I saw a man walking down the street in short sleeves yesterday. In St. Petersburg. In _January_ ,” he stressed.

Victor smirked. “You’re just a wimp about the cold, _Zolotse_ ,” he accused. 

“I saw a man and woman arguing in the crosswalk, holding up traffic, and then the woman slapped the man and then leapt on him and kissed him like she was going to mount him right there,” Yuuri countered.

“We’re passionate people,” Victor argued.

Yuuri narrowed his eyes. “A ten year old child offered me alcohol at the café I went to for breakfast last week.”

Victor grinned. “Like you weren’t tempted to take it, you lush,” he accused and Yuuri rolled his eyes. 

“Phichit, you’ve met Victor. Most of the people I’ve interacted with in the past month have been just like him, only less cheerful,” he said and Phichit gave a long ‘ooooh’.

“Yeah, okay, all of you Russians are mad, then,” Phichit agreed making Victor gasp dramatically.

“Phichit!”

“I’m sorry, but you did upend your entire life to fly across the continent and show up at Yuuri’s home on a whim all because you felt a connection to him while he drunkenly danced with you months before that,” he reminded him.

“It was fate drawing me to my destiny, of course I did!” Victor dismissed, turning a soppy gaze at Yuuri. “Fate was showing me the way to my soulmate, Phichit, I couldn’t ignore such a calling.”

Yuuri snickered as he brushed Victor’s hair from his face affectionately. “No sane person would do that though, Vitya. I’m happy you did come to me, because I never thought I would ever get married before that, but a normal person does not jump on a plane to go live with a stranger just because they’re cute.”

“Then they’re all stupid,” Victor said simply, shifting to lay his head on Yuuri’s shoulder, curling into him.

“Awwwww, you guys are just so romantic!” Phichit said excitedly. “I thought the cutest thing in the world was how Leo stays up late and Guang Hong gets up early just so they can talk to each other every day, and then you had to go and get married to a man you only knew for nine months after he made such a dramatic move to come be your coach.”

Victor’s eyes widened. “Wait are Leo and Guang Hong gay?!”

“Oh, Victor,” Yuuri sighed, patting his head. “You’re not very observant,” he said, and Phichit laughed openly.

“To his credit, Yuuri, they’ve never actually gone on a date,” Phichit said in Victor’s defense. “They’re both too shy and dumb to realize it’s not normal to change your training in the off-season just to go be in America with your ‘fellow skater’ for a few months.”

Victor cooed. “Aw I love young love. It’s so adorable.” He sighed. “I remember my first crush. There was this pretty girl named Natalia that skated in Novice group with me before I got scouted by Yakov to come skate with him. She had the prettiest red hair.” He smiled at Yuuri. “Who was your first crush, Yuuri?” he asked innocently, and in that moment, Phichit burst out laughing so hard the speakers on Yuuri’s phone vibrated.

Yuuri flushed and glared at the phone, but Phichit didn’t see it because he was busy wiping tears from his eyes. “He doesn’t know?!” Phichit choked out between gales of laughter. 

“Know what?” Victor asked, and Yuuri shook his head rapidly at the phone.

“Phichit, no-“

“It was you!” Phichit said as he laughed. “Yuuri’s friend Yuuko said so at the wedding! She mentioned how the first time you were on TV when you were thirteen, a little nine year old Yuuri got all wide-eyed and red over you!”

“I ADMIRED HIS SKATING!” Yuuri barked out, slapping a hand over his mouth as he blushed harder.

Victor looked at Yuuri with an even more besotted look. “Even more proof our love is fate, _Zolotse_ ,” he sighed, touching Yuuri’s face with the same hand his wedding ring was on. “To think that it took fourteen years for me to find my destined soulmate and yet you knew all along.”

Yuuri blushed harder and sighed. “Victor, I was just a silly fan, just like all those JJ’s Girls.”

“Lies,” Victor tutted. “Because the moment you smiled at me that drunken night I fell for you, and I’ve been smiled at by thousands of fans before and never once did that happen.”

“So. Romantic!” Phichit squeaked. “Can I tweet this?! All of this?!” he asked and Yuuri rolled his eyes and chuckled.

“No,” he said and Phichit pouted. “Alright, Victor has to go finish packing, so let’s talk about you now,” Yuuri said as he unceremoniously pushed Victor off the couch and onto the floor.

“I am betrayed!” Victor cried dramatically, but Yuuri just ignored him, going into a conversation about Four Continents with Phichit instead.

~

Yakov flew his skaters first class, and while Victor told Yuuri he could come with them, Yuuri had arranged to get onto the same connecting flight in Moscow as Minako. He still went to the airport with Victor to see him off before taking Makkachin to the kennel. 

Victor, as always, was very dramatic. “My _Zolotse_ ,” he sighed, hugging Yuuri close.

“Victor. Yakov looks mad,” he murmured as he saw Yakov glaring at them over Victor’s shoulder. Mila was taking photos with her phone while Yurio snickered with a mean look on his face. “Victor-“

“Yuuri,” he sighed, turning to kiss his cheek. “I’m going to miss you.”

Yuuri laughed, turning to kiss his lips sweetly. “Yes, all five hours before I get to Vienna and you’re waiting on me at the airport and driving Yakov crazy,” he teased.

“Mmmm,” Victor moaned, leaning in to kiss him again, fingers going to tip his chin up for a better angle this time. “And I’ll miss you every moment.”

Yuuri laughed shaking his head. “You’re ridiculous,” he said, turning to press a kiss to Victor’s ring. “Just focus on your competition coming up. Listen to Yakov. Don’t come to the airport,” he stressed, narrowing his eyes at him. “We can meet up for dinner when everybody goes out tonight, silly.”

Victor smiled and kissed Yuuri’s forehead. “I love you, my husband.”

“Have a good flight,” Yuuri said, patting his hip as he pulled away. “Love you, too.”

When Victor finally turned and headed to the waiting team and Yurio finally threw his hands up. “THANK GOD! THE PIGGY IS LEAVING!”

Yuuri rolled his eyes, but then laughed when Yakov slapped him in the back of the head and barked something in Russian that had all the skaters falling into line to follow him into the airport.

~

“This is so exciting!” Minako chattered, her hair swinging as she did a spin right on the sidewalk. “Oh Yuuri! The European Championship!” 

He laughed, taking both of their bags. “I know, I know,” he said, dragging his behind him with hers on his shoulder. “Our tickets are center of the ice, directly opposite the judges, too!”

She chattered along excitedly as they hailed a cab and, in very broken German he had learned from Chris (which he was very uncertain about using in case Chris taught him something dirty) he told the name of the hotel they were staying at. They hadn’t had any rooms available at the hotel all the skaters and their coaches were staying at, but they were only just up the street from that one, so that when they went out to dinner with Victor that night they were able to get back to their room on foot. 

The whole ride, Minako kept trying out German phrases on the cab driver, who laughed at her more meanly than anything, Yuuri thought, but they made it to the hotel without any trouble. They had barely gotten to their room to put away their bags when Yuuri’s phone chimed. He opened Facetime and saw Victor was calling. “Hey, did you guys make it okay?” he asked in greeting.

“Yuuri! We’re waiting for you down in the lobby!”

Minako’s head popped out of the bathroom. “Is that Victor?”

“Say hey to Minako, Victor,” he said, turning the phone so that she could wave at the phone.

“Minako!” Victor cheered. “We’re waiting in the lobby of your hotel! Come on! Chris is here and he’s saying dirty things to the doorman so we’re gonna get kicked out, soon!”

Yuuri rolled his eyes but hung up all the same. “Let’s go before they get in trouble,” he said and Minako cheered.

“Ahhhhh Christophe Giacometti!” She pretended to swoon. “Maybe I can get him drunk enough to get in his pants,” she said decisively and Yuuri groaned, covering his ears.

“ _Minako-Sensei_!”

~

When they got down to the lobby, only Yurio sat on the couch, looking down at his phone. “Yurio,” Yuuri greeted and Yurio looked up at him with a grumpy look.

“Stop calling me that,” he said for the thousandth time, though Yuuri knew he would never stop. 

“Where’s everybody?” Yuuri asked, looking around.

Yurio shrugged. “Probably got thrown out. I don’t know what Chris was saying but it didn’t sound right.”

Yuuri tutted and grabbed Yurio to drag him with them as they left. When they got outside, Victor and Chris were standing on the curb giggling like children while Mila and Sara stood arguing with Michele and Georgi complained about all of them out loud to nobody. Yuuri put his hands on his hips, shaking his head. “I can’t leave you alone for one day, Victor,” he said loudly and Victor immediately turned to him with a bright smile.

“Yuuri!” he said, holding out his arms. Minako cleared her throat, crossing her arms, and Victor smiled. “Minako,” he greeted. “Lovely to see you!”

Yurio just grunted, standing beside her. “And I’m the child here,” he said flatly, and Victor rolled his eyes at him.

“Oh whatever,” he said, and Chris walked over to Yuuri, tugging him into a hug. “Hey! Watch those hands!” Victor cried in a scandalized tone as Chris’s hand strayed down to Yuuri’s butt, making Yuuri giggle and pull away from him.

“Chris, stop!” he said, swatting his hand away from his backside. 

Chris smirked. “But Yuuri, you know how much I miss your sexy body,” he purred and Yuuri rolled his eyes, shoving at him playfully.

“You better stop, Victor looks like he’s going to snap,” he joked, and they both turned to see Victor’s dangerously cold smile. 

“It’s funny when you hit on the doorman, not when you feel up my husband.” He held his arms open and Yuuri rolled his eyes, snickering with Chris as Chris let go of him. “Yuuri!” he said as Yuuri stepped into his arms to hug him.

“Stop being jealous,” he said, turning to peck his lips. “You saw me this morning. I haven’t seen Chris in far longer.” He smiled up at Victor. “Besides you two were just acting like children, Yurio tells me.”

“They were,” Mila offered, smiling. “Hi, Yuuri. Victor hasn’t stopped complaining about you not being here since we got on the plane, so I’m glad you got here.”

Georgi grunted. “Yes, it’s ridiculous.” Sara and Michele exchanged a look and then stared at the back of Georgi’s head hard enough to make Chris snort.

“Whatever stop picking on me!” Victor declared loudly, sliding his hand into Yuuri’s. “Chris said there’s a nice place to go nearby! Let’s go!”

Yurio rolled his eyes. “Remember what Yakov said. If you come back drunk you’ll pay,” he drawled. 

Chris tutted, ruffling Yurio’s hair, making him glare at him and swat at his hand. “Little Yuri, what do you take us for? We’re professionals!” He winked. “Don’t worry, you’ll understand when you grow up,” he teased and then slung his arm around Mila, who was nearest him. “What do you say, Mila, want to help me get Victor in trouble for drinking too much?”

Mila snickered. “It would be worth it just to watch Victor get in trouble. Yakov is brutal.”

Yuuri looked up at Victor with a warning look. “Don’t do it, Vicchan,” he warned, and Victor gave him an innocent look.

“What do you take me for, Yuuri? I would never!”

Yuuri narrowed his eyes and hummed. “Hmmm.”

~

It turned out Yuuri wasn’t at all wrong to doubt Victor’s words, because not even an hour later, he wasn’t sure who was drunker, Victor or Minako. 

“Isn’t he so sexy?!” Victor babbled, eyes glassy as he swayed some, leaning his weight onto Yuuri. “Look at him!” he said with a grand wave of his hand, gesturing to Yuuri, who was on his way to being a tomato. “Sara isn’t he so beautiful?” he prompted, attempting to caress Yuuri’s face and instead sort of flapping his hand against Yuuri’s forehead. “And look!” He thrust his hand out at the woman, making her jerk back to keep from getting punched in the nose. “He’s my husband!”

“We know, Victor, you posted four-hundred photos of your rings on Instagram,” she said, leaning closer to her brother, who looked just as alarmed by Victor’s flailing limbs.

Yuuri patted his belly. “Victor, you should calm down-“

“VICTOR!” Minako cheered, having already lost her coat and sweater so she was down to a tee-shirt. “Victor you said you weren’t gonna drink. HA!” She handed him another shot and then took one herself. “Liar!”

Victor raised it to his lips but Yuuri snatched it away, glaring. “Victor, no!” he chastised, handing the shot to Yurio, only to think twice and grab it back and thrust it towards Chris instead. Chris shrugged and downed it. 

“But why?” Victor asked, nuzzling Yuuri’s cheek. “Mmmm, Yuuri, don’t you like me when I drink!”

“No, you get naked in public!” Yuuri complained, only to gasp when Victor’s eyes grew brighter and he sat up and grabbed the bottom of his shirt. “Victor, no!”

Victor’s eyes grew wide and his expression brightened. “Yuuri, are you jealous of other people seeing my naked body cause it belongs to only youuuuuu?” he drawled.

Yuuri just stared at him flatly. “I don’t care who sees you naked, but we’re in public and nobody should get naked in public.” Chris leered at him and Yuuri raised a finger. “You will notice, Christophe, that I am not drinking. I learned my lesson the hard way. Unlike Victor, who never learns.”

Michele frowned and looked to Mila. “What are they talking about?”

“Two Grand Prix Finals ago, Chris and Piggy got all naked and pole danced together while they were drunk,” Yurio said, and Chris shoved his phone towards Sara, Mila, and Michele.

“I still have video!” he said cheerfully.

Yuuri sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose. “I hate all of you.”

Victor’s eyes grew wide and he swooned against him. “But not me, right, my darling husband?” he asked, batting his eyelashes dramatically.

“Only sometimes,” Yuuri soothed, patting his drunken head. 

With a snort, Yurio raised his glass of water to Yuuri. “I promise to help you plan the funeral when Yakov murders him when he wakes up with a hangover in the morning for practice,” he said and Yuuri grimaced as he looked at Victor, who was sneakily trying to take his shirt off again.

“That’s if I don’t do the job for Yakov first,” Yuuri grumbled, yanking Victor’s shirt back down again with a huff. 

~

Yuuri and Minako – who after a lifetime of being a total lush never got hangovers anymore – spent the early morning at a public skating rink and most of the afternoon sight-seeing. Yurio kept them updated to Victor’s trouble with Yakov since Yakov had taken Victor’s phone as punishment for disobeying him. Yurio, Yuuri discovered, was like the anti-Phichit. He took selfies of himself grinning evilly with Victor’s pain in the background. Yuuri well recognized a not-shaven, un-showered Victor on the ice for morning practice while Yakov screamed at him, so red in the face he looked apoplectic. 

While Yuuri did a few run-throughs of his choreography without the jumps and spins at the public rink, Minako kept responding to Yurio’s evil texts of Victor’s pain with photos of Yuuri’s beautiful choreography work. 

It had been funny how, after breaking his promise to not do spins in order to do a few lazy sit-spins just to warm up his knees, a little girl who couldn’t have been more than five approached Yuuri and asked if he was a figure skater in unsure English.

_“I am,” he said, crouching down to speak to her on her level. “I am a professional figure skater from Japan. Do you know where that is?”_

_She nodded. “In Asia!” she said, and he smiled._

_“Very good. Do you like skating?” he asked, and she nodded excitedly._

_“Mama says I can take lessons to get good!” she said and then looked over Yuuri’s head. “Mama! This man is a figure skater!”_

_Yuuri looked over his shoulder and stood up, blushing some as a woman skated over to them. “I’m so sorry my daughter bothered you,” she said, catching the little girl’s hand to say something to her in her native language. “I hope she didn’t cause trouble,” she said as she looked up at Yuuri, only to blink. “You’re Katsuki Yuuri!” she said in surprise and Yuuri started some, hand coming up to his mouth in equal surprise._

_“Eh, yes?” he said unsurely. “You know who I am?”_

_The woman smiled brightly. “Of course I do! You won silver at the Grand Prix Final! We were there,” she said, gesturing to her daughter. “Wow, Karina, he really is a figure skater,” she said brightly to her daughter._

_“Wooooow,” the little girl said excitedly. “You did cool jumps at that thing!” She clearly realized who Yuuri was now._

_Yuuri laughed, absolutely delighted to meet someone who recognized him all the way in Austria. “Yep, I sure did.”_

_The mother looked a little bashful but she held up her phone. “Uh, could we take a picture with you?” she asked, and Yuuri beamed._

_“Absolutely!” he said, and then turned to Minako. “Will you?” he asked, and she nodded, holding her hand out for the phone. “This is my ballet teacher. She started teaching me to dance when I was your age,” he told the little girl. “And then she said I should try skating one day, and look at me now,” he explained as he moved to stand beside the mother while the little girl stood in front of them._

_Minako took the photo and then gave the mother her phone back and Yuuri smiled at the mother and child. “I need to go, but have fun skating, and remember, that’s the most important part,” he said to the little girl. “Everything is okay as long as you enjoy whatever it is you like to do.”_

_The mother translated so her daughter could understand better and, to Yuuri’s surprise, the little girl hugged him around the waist. “Thank you, Yuuri!” she said, and he patted her little head before letting her go back to her mother._

As soon as they had gotten off the ice, Yuuri posted to social media about meeting a fan all the way in Austria just to tease his friends who were competing that he was the one that got recognized. After that, they spent the afternoon sight-seeing right up until the time came for them to head to the rink for the short program skate.

~

Since he couldn’t go back with Victor, Yakov let Victor wait in the entry area for Yuuri. They got there early enough that there wouldn’t be hordes of people fawning over Victor for standing out there. All of it was because Victor, in spite of his talent and all his years winning, was very nervous, and he had told Yuuri before they left Russia that he needed to a good luck kiss before every skate if he was going to do his best.

When Victor spotted them, Yuuri saw the tension in the lines of his mouth and smiled encouragingly as he approached him. “Yuuri,” Victor said, deflating some. He stepped into Yuuri’s space and hugged him, leaning down to lay his head on Yuuri’s shoulder. Yuuri hummed, rubbing his back as he hugged him.

“How are you doing?” Yuuri asked, and Victor’s back heaved some under his hand.

“Fifty-percent success rate in practice this morning,” Victor muttered. “I forgot how hard this was. What was I thinking doing such a massive competition with only a month to prepare?”

“You were thinking it’s better to jump back in,” Yuuri reminded him soothingly. He pulled back some and looked Victor in the face as he stood tall. “You’re still currently the reigning European Champion, Vitya. This is yours in the bag. Your biggest threat is Yurio and he backed off on his jumps after the Grand Prix Final since it was too much pressure on his legs while he’s still growing.” He put a hand on Victor’s cheek, making sure his ring touched Victor’s skin. “I know you can do this.”

Victor smiled nervously. “Your faith means everything to me,” he confessed. He nodded, taking a deep breath. “I was stupid to drink so much last night. I’m sorry for causing trouble for you,” he said earnestly.

It made Yuuri’s insides squirm to see how seriously Victor took his apology. He scrunched his nose and shrugged. “Eh, I married all of you, not just the good things about you. I knew what I was getting before I agreed to the terms and conditions,” he teased.

Suddenly some of the stress melted from Victor’s eyes and he leaned down, nudging their noses together. “I love you, Yuuri. Thank you for standing by me.”

“I love you, too, and I will always stand by you,” Yuuri comforted. He tipped his chin up, kissing Victor slowly. Victor melted against him just a bit, since it was far too public to really kiss the way they wanted to. When the kiss broke, Yuuri pushed Victor’s bangs from his eyes. “You’re my favorite, no matter what, but Yurio technically still holds the world record for highest score in a short program and I hold the world record for highest score in a free program, so you should probably beat him tonight and beat me tomorrow if you really want to make a comeback.”

Victor smirked. “Still programs I choreographed, so as long as nobody else beats either of you besides me, it’s okay.” He pecked Yuuri’s forehead. “I’m going to go defend my reign as European Champion. Make sure you keep your eyes on me,” he said as he pulled away, walking backwards just so he could still wink at Yuuri.

“As if they would stray to anything else,” Yuuri called after him, smiling until Victor finally turned and walked through a set of doors and out of his view. 

He watched the empty doorway for a moment until Minako approached and patted him on the back. “Come on, Lover Boy, let’s go watch your man,” she teased, tugging Yuuri along to go find their seats.

~

There were a _lot_ of skaters at the European Championships in Victor’s competition for the short program, so Yuuri and Minako were glad they had seats at the front across from the judges or else they might have embarrassed themselves by falling asleep. The men’s short program competition lasted for hours, and Victor was near the end. He wasn’t last, but out of more than twenty skaters, he was in the twenties. 

Yuuri was nervous for Victor, but he was also extremely excited. 

It was a bit embarrassing as people came in and, as they sat around them, they recognized him and he heard many of them whispering his and Victor’s names even if he couldn’t understand the other things they were saying. He knew why, though. He could still remember Mila translating for him when, after Victor’s return was announced, he was asked to be on a talk show. It hadn’t really hit Yuuri until they moved to Russia that Victor was a proper celebrity there, realistically. Sure, Yuuri had been a fan since he was a child, but he was a skater. Victor was popular enough that his sponsorship deals included billboard ads on the sides of buildings.

Mila had translated Victor’s talk show appearance and it was all Yuuri could do to not melt the ice of the rink as they all watched from the boards as Victor gushed about how his return was all due to ‘rediscovering his passion for skating’ and ‘discovering his passion for life for the first time’ because of Yuuri.

_Victor on the screen was smiling brightly and gesturing animatedly, and Mila’s translation was in the soppiest voice as she recounted everything Victor said. “Awww, there he said, ‘Last year, I won the gold at Worlds and as I stood atop the podium, I had never felt more alone and empty, because, as arrogant as this sounds, I was sick of winning. I know that’s a problem many would love to have, but I sacrificed my entire life for twenty years and it was no longer a challenge for me, so I had nothing. Everything was routine to me. Every day of my life was spent knowing what was going to happen, and it was the lowest I had ever felt in my life. A few weeks later, I was at home as the off-season started and someone sent me the link to a video of a fellow skater who had been rumored to have retired skating my winning routine just for fun and he seemed to feel more from my routine than I ever had, and it made me realize that I had to make a change to find something in my life that would bring me joy.’”_

_“Ew,” Yurio said, making a face. Yuuri watched the woman ask Victor something and Yurio flapped a hand. “She asked if the skater was you.”_

_Mila nodded. “And now he says, ‘I made a rash decision to jump on the next plane to Japan to go offer to coach the mysterious, magnetic man I had only briefly met before at the Grand Prix Final the December before in hopes that someone who clearly still loved skating more than I did could revive his career. Coaching was nothing I had ever thought of before, but I mostly just wanted an excuse to keep Katsuki Yuuri’s love of skating alive and out there for the world to see.’ And now she’s asking him about turning you around from a loser to a silver medalist and asking why he’s decided to stop coaching you and return to skating and what changed for him,” Mila explained._

_Yuuri chuckled. “Wait until they hear he’s still coaching me.”_

_Mila rolled her eyes. “Wait until he gets soppy about your marriage and the audience goes wild- oh, here we are,” she said with a snicker. “‘Coaching and competing may be impossible, but I have to try, because Yuuri is the only reason I love skating again. The way he fights and never gives up inspires me more than anything before, and it’s the main reason I fell in love with him. I expected to find inspiration in coaching a failing skater into being a winner and yet the real inspiration came from discovering that Yuuri was never a failing skater, just a skater that lacked someone to understand his struggles and support him in overcoming his obstacles. I didn’t make him a winning skater, I just believed in him enough for him to finally believe in himself. The journey we undertook together for nine months last year changed me far more than it changed him. That’s why my programs this year are themed after my life last year. The short program is a depiction of how I felt before Yuuri, lonely and empty in all of my success, and the long program shows the journey of my life changing during the nine months I coached him before he won silver at the Grand Prix Final. It depicts the new life he breathed into me early in our coach-skater relationship and the inspiration I found in his love of skating, and the transformation that came along the way from just that, to friendship, to love, culminating in me rediscovering my passion and inspiration for skating and finding the courage to try to skate competitively again all because this time my husband believes in me the same way I believed in him.’”_

_Georgi grunted. “God, he’s such an obnoxious ass.”_

_Yuuri glared over his shoulder. “Shut up, it’s sweet,” he muttered, though his face was bright red at this point._

_“Georgi’s just mad nobody will ever love him the way Victor loves you,” Mila comforted, slinging an arm around him as she held the phone in front of him. “That is a Victor none of us ever saw before you, and even Yakov is grateful for what you have done for Victor.”_

_Yuuri flushed deeper, ducking his head. “I just married my childhood hero, I’m not sure I should be thanked for that.”_

_“You’re right, you’re a groupie stalker, you pervert,” Yurio said plainly, then thumped Mila on the back hard enough to make her curse at him. “Turn it off and get back to skating, Hag!”_

_Yuuri looked back at Mila’s phone and saw the shining happiness on Victor’s face even through a TV camera and he knew that, however hard it was to understand sometimes that Victor loved him just as much as he loved Victor, his husband was happy and somehow it was his doing._

“Yuuri!” 

Yuuri snapped out of it and turned to Minako, who was glaring. “Chris is about to skate!” she said, and Yuuri’s head snapped around to see that, sure enough, Chris was taking to the ice.

Now that there were skaters he knew personally taking the ice as they got into the higher level skaters, Yuuri had less trouble focusing. Chris did really well, nailing all his jumps (though one seemed to be under-rotated to Yuuri’s eyes) and he managed to hang onto first place up until Yurio went. Yurio had downgraded some of his jumps after the Grand Prix series because he had started a growth spurt and Yakov wanted to be cautious and let him get used to his changing balance rather than risk serious injury. Yurio hadn’t liked that, but he was smart enough to realize that it wasn’t worth his future career to keep breaking records now. He was young and he knew he had a lot longer shelf-life than any of the other senior skaters. He would be sixteen in less than two months, and even then, the next youngest skater at their top level was Guang-Hong and he was eighteen, so Yurio knew to just coast for now while he grew since by the time he was eighteen, most likely Victor, Chris, Georgi, and Yuuri would be out of his way. 

“There’s only Victor, Michele, Georgi, and Emil left,” Minako told him, and he nodded.

“I think it’s Emil and then Victor to separate out the Russians. Georgi must be last,” he said, going by his own logic. Yuuri closed his hands into fists, nerves fluttering as Victor’s time on the ice drew nearer. He hadn’t actually seen Victor skate either of his programs in full costume and with music. He had seen the costumes, he had heard the music, and he had seen mostly finished runs of his programs, but their training schedules were so tight since Victor was coaching him as well as training for himself, so often Yuuri didn’t have time to hang around at the rink and watch Victor train.

When the announcer came over and announced something in German that ended in Victor’s name and then followed it with the announcement in English, Yuuri grabbed Minako’s hand, clinging to her as they both watched Victor walk onto the ice and turn at the barrier to talk to Yakov very seriously. Yuuri raised his ring to his lips and kissed it, closing his eyes as he said a small prayer for Victor. This was Victor’s bit comeback skate, it was his first public skate since announcing his return, and Yuuri knew how much was riding on this skate for Victor. 

When he opened his eyes, the crowd was cheering as Victor skated to the center of the ice. Victor looked breathtaking in his costume. Victor had always been one for flashy costumes, whether in a sequins and rhinestones way or in a formal-looking costume, but since the entire theme for his comeback half-season was about finding his love of skating once again, this costume was very simple. For his short program, he simply wore a slightly loose black shirt with billowy sleeves and black pants with absolutely no decoration on them. The simplicity made Victor’s usual fashionable beauty become something so pure and delicate that every time Yuuri had seen the costume, it made his heart skip a beat. He smiled when Victor’s eyes landed on him for a moment before he finished getting into position to face the judges opposite them. The smile on Victor’s face was so genuine that it made Yuuri relax a bit.

When the music started, it was a slow, melancholic piece that Victor brought to life in his perfect movements. Every turn and twist was as if the music itself was dictating Victor’s choreography and his body was nothing but a tool for the music. So few skaters were able to nail that interpretation so perfectly, but Yuuri could tell that Victor was on it tonight. The story that was being told was one that broke Yuuri’s heart in a way he hadn’t expected it to, because he could _feel_ Victor’s loneliness in his skating and the thought that the man who had arrived in Hatsetsu last spring had been this sad behind his perfect smile was the worst feeling ever. Yuuri never wanted his husband to ever feel that way again and he vowed to himself to do everything he could to make sure of it. 

When the first jump came, Yuuri held his breath as Victor began his long sweep and only let it out in a gasp when Victor performed an absolutely perfect quad flip that sent the entire audience into a frenzy of cheers. Yuuri watched the beautiful skating, the painfully heartbreaking story unfolding, and a series of jumps in which the only flaw at all was a quad-triple combination being changed to a quad-double so smoothly it was obviously a choice he made, not a popped jump, and when Victor struck his final pose after some beautiful spins and the final notes died, Yuuri leapt to his feet, tears streaming down his face as he cheered along with everybody else. 

When Victor turned to wave to the audience, Yuuri saw tears in his eyes, too, and he knew that, though they had very few doubts before, Victor giving skating at least one more shot was without a doubt the right choice.

After the short program, Victor was in first place after his long hiatus and he led Yurio by six points.

~

It was very late after the short program finished so the press was very minimal. Yuuri and Minako waited for Victor to finish up with Mila and Sara, who had come to see the skate as well. Once Yakov wrestled his skaters away from press, it didn’t take them long to leave. As soon as Victor spotted Yuuri, his entire face brightened and Yuuri felt something in his chest loosen. He had been so worried Victor would be freaking out after making it to first place in his first skate back, but he looked excited more than anything.

“Yuuri, did you see?!” He swept him into a hug as soon as he was within arm’s reach. “I got all my jumps, just like you said I would,” he said, and Yuuri pulled back just far enough to smile up at him.

“You were amazing!” he said brightly. “And Yurio, that layback spin was gorgeous!” he said, turning to look over Victor’s shoulder. “You have to teach me how to do that,” he said cheerfully.

Yurio made a face. “You’re too fat to do a layback spin-“

“Yuri Plisetsky, do not insult Other Yuuri.” Everyone grew a bit more serious when they heard Lilia’s voice and turned to see her coming up behind them with Georgi who was carrying her coat for her until they got to the doors. 

“Sorry,” Yurio muttered and Yuuri smirked some when Madame Lilia gave Yuuri a small smile (or as much of one as she ever did).

Lilia Baranovskaya was about the only person in the world that Yurio was actually afraid of or showed any respect for, and much to his utter despair, and most everyone else’s surprise, Lilia _loved_ Yuuri. When she first came to the rink at the same time as Victor and Yuuri having a coaching session, Yuuri had been very nervous. People often forgot that he danced ballet first and started skating afterwards, so he knew who she was and really felt nervous around her. He was afraid she would laugh at his skills. Instead, she had actually noticed his grace and flexibility and had commented that he clearly was classically trained, which set him off babbling about Minako’s teaching.

Ever since then, she would comment to Yurio that he should’ve trained from childhood like Yuuri did if he didn’t want to work as hard to obtain the levels of grace he had in his hard training. Yuuri had a lot of the natural balance and grace that Yurio had to work on just ingrained in his body since he learned to dance not much later than he learned to walk. Victor always found it amazing that when Yuuri wasn’t skating he was clumsy when Victor knew Yuuri was capable of the most elegant, graceful movements when he was trying.

Lilia even volunteered to help Victor out when he asked her for help with Yuuri’s choreography since he didn’t have the same training as Yuuri and had a different style for himself than Yuuri was best suited for. She wouldn’t teach Yuuri, naturally, since Yurio was her skater and she wanted him to win, but she did agree to help Victor as a fellow coach so that Victor could then come to Yuuri with the choreography that was best suited for him with Lilia’s approval.

“Yuuri, why do you want to do a layback spin?” Mila asked. “Yurio only does it because he’s a little boy so female choreography suits him. You’re a bit old to try incorporating ladies skating into your routines.”

Yuuri shrugged. “Why shouldn’t I? The only reason I won the exhibition Yurio and I did last summer is because my ballet teacher taught me how to move like a woman. I’m far more suited for feminine than masculine moves.” He smirked. “But don’t tell Victor, he thinks he’s the prettiest one in our marriage,” he joked in a pretend-whisper.

Victor tutted, curling his arm around Yuuri as they walked. “Of course I’m prettier, _Zolotse_ ,” he argued. “But I’m not flexible enough for a layback spin and you are, so perhaps it wouldn’t be bad to learn.”

Minako wolf-whistled. “Yuuri’s more flexible, huh,” she said with a leer and Yuuri flushed.

“You’re worse than Phichit!” he hissed at her, turning to hide his blush in Victor’s arm.

“Remember,” Yakov interrupted, addressing all of them. “You all have one hour to go eat and get back to your hotel rooms. When I come around checking, if you aren’t there, I will make you sit in the Kiss and Cry alone tomorrow during your skates. Mila, you’re included in that,” he threatened. 

Yuuri grimaced. “That’s harsh,” he muttered, and Victor nodded.

“I’m pretty sure I would die,” he said, and then kissed Yuuri’s forehead. “Let’s go get food, then! Who all is coming with us?” he asked.

Yurio glowered. “Are you going to actually eat dinner or are you going to make out the whole time.”

Victor grinned evilly. “Undecided.”

Yurio muttered under his breath. “I’m going somewhere else, then. Georgi!” he snapped, and then said something in angry Russian to his rink mate, who just nodded and followed him heading away from the others.

Minako hooked a finger at Mila and Sara. “We’re going to get hammered, so you two have fun,” she said with a wiggle of her eyebrows, making Yuuri groan and blush yet again.

“Romantic dinner alone, then!” Victor said brightly, sliding his hand into Yuuri’s to tug him along. “Come on, there’s a place down the street that has wiener schnitzel!” 

~

When Yuuri woke up the following morning, Phichit had spammed him with links to both social media posts and a few sports blogs and when he opened them he couldn’t help but smile. Someone had caught a photo of him kissing his ring in the stands and, unbeknownst to Yuuri who had only seen his back, Victor had kissed his ring as well as he stood at the boards, so the two photos had been put side by side all over the internet. 

The headlines on the sports blogs all commented on love making Victor stronger and it made Yuuri feel ridiculously giddy still to think that being married to his coach and competitor was _real_. They had only been married a month and they had only been romantically involved for less than three months, so it was still exciting to even think about his love making Victor strong.

He may not be ‘ _The_ Victor Nikiforov’ to Yuuri anymore, but it still stood that a year ago Victor was an untouchable hero figure in Yuuri’s life and now he was his husband, the man who loved Yuuri more than anything. Yuuri rolled onto his stomach and grabbed his glasses off the bedside table. He put them on and then sent one of the links to Victor with a heart and the comment, _Who knew I was the real reason you’re a good skater? Lol!_.

He got out of bed and went to the bathroom to do his business and brush his teeth, and when he came back, his phone blinked with notification. He picked it up and opened the message, only to practically flop to the bed with a giddy smile, hugging the phone to his chest. When he looked at the phone again, he couldn’t take his eyes off of the message he had in reply.

_You’re the only reason I even care to step onto the ice, and everybody knows it. If they haven’t figured that out yet, they will when they see me skate today and watch me skate our love for the world to see._

Victor could be the sweetest person alive sometimes, especially for someone who could also be the densest and most unknowingly insensitive person alive the rest of the time. 

~

Yuuri really thought Victor had been very confident after his short program the night before, but when he got a call while at a museum with Minako from _Yakov_ of all people, he answered quickly and simply was told, “Talk to your husband,” by a gruff Yakov. He frowned, confused for a moment, before the sound of fumbling phone caught his attention.

“Hello?” he asked in confusion, and suddenly there was a new voice.

“I may or may not be freaking out.”

Yuuri looked for somewhere to go that was away from the crowds and spotted a bathroom outside the gallery. “Victor, what’s wrong?”

Victor made a pained noise. “Mickey has a quad flip planned, he did it in practice, it was amazing, Yuuri! What if his is better than mine? I’m old and he’s young and what if I mess up but he doesn’t? Everybody expects me to win gold, especially after yesterday, but what if that was the fluke and I’m actually not good enough anymore? I was practically retired!”

Yuuri ducked into the bathroom and leaned against the sink. “Victor, take a moment and remember who you’re talking to. Who was it that nearly retired and then came back stronger than ever?” he asked him. “You may not be the best of your career like I was, maybe this isn’t your extended peak, but you are skating so beautifully because you love it again, Vitya,” he reminded him. Victor didn’t say anything so Yuuri smiled to himself. “What’s the one thing you love most in the whole world?” he prompted.

There wasn’t a moment’s hesitation before Victor answered him. “You.”

Yuuri rolled his eyes, ignoring the warmth in his belly, and chuckled. “I said thing, not person, pay attention.”

With a heavy sigh, Victor replied, “Skating. I know you’re right.”

“Of course I am, Victor, because I love it just as much as you do,” he said knowingly. “Nothing is more comforting than the ice beneath your skates, and nothing feels better than to sink into your performance until you feel nothing but the music and the story you’re telling with your body and the crowd disappears and for a moment you forget it’s even a competition.” Yuuri visualized everything he said and put the emotion into his words. “It’s the best feeling in the world, isn’t it?”

Victor exhaled audibly. “You’re right. I love skating. I love this sport. I love being on the ice. I would choose skating over drinking, I love it so much. I would choose skating over sex.”

Yuuri smiled, biting his bottom lip. “The most ridiculous part of that is that I’m not even offended my husband would choose skating over sex, because I would probably choose skating, too.”

“I’m definitely not saying sex isn’t great though,” Victor added quickly. “We have really great sex. You and I are very compatible when it comes to sex. To have been a virgin when we got together, you’re extremely talented at sex. I didn’t even know sex could be that good. During the off-season, we’re going on a belated honeymoon, and by that I mean we’re spending a whole month locked in the apartment having so much sex the neighbors complain to make up for the lack of sex while we’re in training.”

Yuuri giggled. “Say ‘sex’ one more time, I don’t think you’ve scarred Yurio for life bad enough yet.” He closed his eyes when Victor gave a _real_ laugh at that.

“You know just how to make me stop freaking out,” Victor said in a warm, amused tone. “Now I’m just watching Yurio blush and shout at everybody to stop laughing and I don’t even feel that nervous anymore.”

“Well what else is a husband for?” Yuuri tutted. “I believe in you, Victor, and as long as you enjoy yourself and give the fans a good show, what else really matters? You’ve won so many gold medals without ever enjoying your skate. You enjoy it this year, so how hard can it be to skate a clean show?”

“You’re right,” Victor agreed. “I’m being silly. This wasn’t ever about being the top skater in the world again, this was about doing what I love since I still can, and doing it with my friends and with you. Even if I’m not perfect, everybody will still enjoy watching the show as long as I enjoy doing it.”

It made Yuuri so proud to hear Victor say something so positive. “Exactly.” Yuuri chewed on his lip, biting back a smirk as he wondered whether or not to say what he was thinking, but in the end, he decided it could only motivate him further. “Besides, after the competition ends tonight, we can send Minako out drinking,” he said in a flirtatious tone. “You can come to my hotel room. Get some wine sent up,” he purred. “Celebrate getting through your first competition back before we both have to go back into training mode for Four Continents.”

Victor groaned on the other end. “Yuuriiiiii,” he whined. “Now I’m thinking dirty things!”

Yuuri grinned. “Well your performance tonight is about falling in love with me, and people in love often do dirty things.” He giggled some. “Besides, Chris is there, how do you stop thinking about dirty things with him around? He _is_ a dirty thing.”

Victor barked out a laugh in surprise, then quieted it down. “Yuuri,” he chastised.

“I love you,” Yuuri said, changing tracks entirely. He smiled softly, leaning back against the paper towel holder. “You’re going to do great because I love you and as long as you skate our love for the world to see, even if you lose, you’ll still do a beautiful skate.”

Victor was quiet for a moment, and when he spoke again, Yuuri could hear the seriousness in his voice. “Even if I came in dead last, Yuuri, the audience will see our love and, you’re right, it will be good enough for me.”

~

Victor’s free program music was light and delicate and, for lack of better words, sweet. It started simple and swelled to something beautiful, and Yuuri loved it, because Victor’s skating matched the rising tempo all along the way. Yuuri hoped everybody else could see the story evolving that he did even though nobody else knew it as intimately as he did. 

The most painful thing, however, was that after all of his beautiful skating, his last jump, the quad flip he had moved to the very end, was landed too far back and he fell. When he got to his feet, he had lost his momentum, so his final spin sequence began too late for the music and he missed the final note. Yuuri knew how painful it was to skate so beautifully and have the last twenty seconds mess it all up. Victor held his final pose so stiffly, so Yuuri knew how he was feeling.

However, the crowd still gave him a standing ovation and Yuuri couldn’t help but cry as he clapped for him. When Victor turned to salute the crowd, his smile was genuine, which only made Yuuri cry harder. Victor skated because he loved to skate, and even a hard fall that threw off the end of his program hadn’t managed to chip away at that love of skating. As Victor skated a loop around the ice to wave to the crowd, he scooped up a flower, and much to Yuuri’s horror, he skated right up to the barrier in front of him and Minako and held the flower out to Yuuri.

“Oh my God, I hate you,” Yuuri squeaked as he took the flower with a panicked smile, face bright red, while all around him there were coos and squeals of delight from the other people in their section.

Victor just winked and blew him a kiss as he skated away, going to the Kiss and Cry, where Yakov looked very unamused by Victor’s antics as he waited for him. Minako snickered and raised her phone to take a photo of Yuuri’s bright red face as he tried to duck into his seat and hide from all of the attention that was on him while he had a tear-blotchy face all because of Victor’s (admittedly sweet) stunt.

When he looked down at the pretty pink rose in his lap, however, he couldn’t help the butterflies it gave him that Victor was so shameless about his love for Yuuri that he would do something so showy in the middle of his big debut skate.

When the scores were announced, Victor’s score being the last of the night, Victor didn’t win the gold, and part of Yuuri ached for Victor, but the look on his face over in the Kiss and Cry when it was announced he finished third place was still a very, very happy one, so Yuuri figured he wasn’t too upset about that result.

~

Yuuri stood waiting while Victor did press stuff, leaning against the barrier that separated the skaters from the reporters. He smiled as Victor prattled with Yakov at his side, between him and Yurio, who snagged the silver. Victor looked so animated as he held his bronze medal in one hand on his chest, glancing down at it several times while talking about something to the reporters. Eventually, they lost interest when Chris, the one who managed to sneakily swipe the gold from both Victor and Yurio with an amazing free skate that was absolutely flawless, came out. Victor said something to Yakov and then practically skipped over to where Yuuri was waiting and leapt over the railing, landing right in front of him.

“Do you know,” Victor started, looking down at the bronze medal against his chest. “I’ve actually never won one of these?” He smiled, touching the medal. “I’ve finished off the podium a few times and I’ve won tons of silver and gold, but never a bronze.”

Yuuri smiled as he watched Victor’s face rather than the medal. He looked happy, and that made Yuuri happy. “Well, I’ve never seen a skater skate up to their husband and give them a rose,” he said, raising his flower to tap against Victor’s medal. “So today’s all about new things.”

When their eyes met, Victor’s smile grew blinding and he let out a soft sigh. “I don’t think I ever remember skating a routine feel that good, Yuuri,” he said in a quiet tone as if speaking too loudly would break the spell that kept them in their own little world at that moment. “Skating never made me feel as happy as today did. I didn’t care about being perfect, I just wanted to skate for my fans and for the world and for you, and make you all feel as happy as I am. It was- it was something else,” he finished lamely, blushing just a bit. “Does that sound stupid?”

“No, Victor,” Yuuri said calmly, meeting his vibrant blue eyes. “It sounds like you’re going to have fun for the rest of your career, which is exactly why you came back.”

Victor laughed happily and tugged Yuuri into a hug, kissing his head. “How are you so smart?” he asked, then, without warning, he grabbed Yuuri’s waist and picked him up, spinning around. “Oh Yuuri!”

“AHH! VICTOR!” he yelped, wrapping his arms around his shoulders as Victor swept him off his feet. “Put me down!” he laughed in surprise, yelping when Victor hoisted him higher, hands going under his legs until he wrapped them around Victor’s waist. “Vichaaaaaan,” he complained, though he couldn’t stop giggling as Victor spun them. 

“Thank you for making me a happy person,” Victor proclaimed dramatically, smiling up at Yuuri as his hold made Yuuri taller. “And making me want to skate again. And loving me. And putting up with me annoying the hell out of you,” he added as Yuuri got red in the face when he noticed all the people turning to point and stare.

Victor put him back down on his feet and Yuuri swatted him in the arm with a playful glare. “You’re such a drama queen,” he said with a good-humored chuckle. He hooked their arms together and tugged him along. “Come on, you. Yakov can get your things for you, you need to get something to eat after using so much energy.”

“Oooh, nagging husband mode, that’s my favorite Yuuri,” Victor announced and Yuuri rolled his eyes at him. Victor leaned down and kissed his cheek with a smack. “Mmmm, do we really have to go eat dinner? There’s something else I’d rather put in my mouth than food,” he purred in Yuuri’s ear and Yuuri gasped and flushed, shoving him away from his side.

“Vitya!” He glared at him. “You’re so dirty!”

“I’m just being honest!” Victor said as he laughed so hard he had to gasp for breath. “Oh your face!” He nearly cackled with mirth. “I’m sorry, I’m sorry, we can go eat dinner. I’ll be good so you’ll still give me kisses later,” he soothed.

Yuuri grumbled and ducked under Victor’s arm, hiding his face against Victor’s chest as they walked. “You’re lucky I love you, or you wouldn’t get _anything_ later.” 

Victor perked up some. “Oh? So I haven’t totally blown my chances?”

Narrowing his eyes in warning, Yuuri tutted. “You might if you say dirty things again,” he said, then bit his lip, glancing away. “But, I mean, you’re not the only one that would be deprived in that case,” he muttered and Victor hummed flirtatiously, tightening his arm around Yuuri.

“Now who’s being dirty,” he purred, sneakily brushing a fingertip along the gap at the bottom of Yuuri’s shirt. He chuckled and kissed Yuuri’s forehead again. “Seriously though, do you have any idea how much I love you, Zolotze?” he asked out loud again.

Yuuri glanced up to meet his eyes and smirked. “About half as much as I love you, I’d say,” he said and Victor huffed in annoyance. This was an old ‘argument’ of theirs that Yuuri loved to pester Victor with.

“That’s not funny.”

“It’s true, though.”

“NO, I love you just as much as you love me!”

“And how would you know?”

“Because I DO!” 

“But can you prove it-“

“I married you, I think that says enough-“

“I married you, too, so I could love you more-“

“Yuuuriiiiiii!”

Yuuri settled in for a long, silly bickering session the whole walk to a restaurant, because his husband won a bronze medal and they were both so happy and in love that nothing could bring them down, not even a silly argument about who loved who the most. If you asked him, that was probably the best argument a person could ever hope to have.


End file.
